Currently, an array of software products are available that are packaged and marketed as case management software. The majority of these software products are focused on medical and legal case management applications. Although these software products offer a wide range of features, they support a limited degree of customization, which typically results in an impedance mismatch between the software's capabilities and a business's case management needs. Businesses that choose to utilize the available software applications are forced to raise their implementation costs by either changing their current business processes and information systems for managing cases or sponsoring the modification of the software products by the software vendors to suit the business's particular needs.
In an increasingly paperless and automated world, the concept of case management is finding application outside the legal and medical fields. For example, accounts payable business units are identifying electronic invoicing requirements that strongly indicate a need for financial case management software. However, each business will typically require its own customization to the case management software, which is not available in current software products without additional expense.
The current case management software market is a heterogeneous mix of software products aimed at specific vertical markets, (e.g., medical, legal), with limited capability for customization and no viability to be adopted for a different vertical market despite the significant commonality of capabilities/features across case management software products.
The present invention is directed toward overcoming one or more of the above-identified problems.